Enjoyed your email. Sounds like you made some wise choices, Mathew. I used to race with crew and enjoyed it tremendously. I brought a few friends and my son recruited crew from high school and later college. But it was hard to keep the same guys and my best crewmembers graduated college and moved far away to pursue careers. The offshore races with the Ocean City NJ Yacht Club lost participation and their schedule dropped from ten races a summer to less than five. Tired of the same scenery off Atlantic City, NJ, I moved my boat to Chesapeake Bay, and though it's 2.5 hrs drive, I love to weekend on it and just daysail. I still do a few distance races solo. I like the Magothy River to Baltimore Inner Harbor or Annapolis to Baltimore Light races. Great fun and some regattas for charity before COVID, would get a hundred boats which is a blast to be a part of, and sail and take photos of all the other boats. It's very hard to compete against some of best sailors in the world and so many black sails on exotic designs, but it's a fun to compare boat speed and pointing angle with our boat, just the same.
Chuck Scheaffer Resolute 1989 C&C 34R Pasadena Md > On 01/31/2021 5:07 PM Matthew L. Wolford via CnC-List > <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > > > At the risk of providing TMI, my perspective on racing has evolved over > time. I started racing on my Dad’s Cal 33 when I was a kid. We were > dedicated racers (and won a lot), which meant at least a full day every > weekend (usually Sundays) late spring, summer, and early fall. My Mom was > not a sailor and stayed home to care for my younger siblings while my Dad, > older brother, and I were out sailing. Over time it resulted in marital > discord — I think serious golfers run into the same issue. I decided to not > do that to my wife (and marriage), so I stopped racing when we started having > kids. You definitely lose your edge if you’re not out there all the time. > These days I do the Wednesday FJAM races for kicks, and a few point-to-point > distance races annually. It is difficult to put a crew together for spin > racing, and we’re all getting too old to run the pointy end. In addition, > the Erie fleet now stays mostly in the bay, and my boat was designed to go > play in the big waves out in the Lake. If I were serious about local club > racing, I’d get a J 35 or something comparable. The 42 is too much boat for > short, calm water course racing. To keep a crew, you need to race regularly. > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > > On Jan 31, 2021, at 10:13 AM, David Risch <davidrisc...@msn.com> > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > Through tight starts and mark roundings You will learn > every dimension of your boat and how to put it exactly where you want it (or > not). > > > > Sent from my Android. Please forgive typos. Thank you. > > > > --------------------------------------------- > > From: Matthew via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > > Sent: Sunday, January 31, 2021 10:08:50 AM > > To: 'Stus-List' <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > > Cc: Matthew <wolf...@erie.net> > > Subject: Stus-List Re: Racing fleets and getting sailors to > > participate > > > > > > Bill’s assessment is correct. He left out that the Erie Yacht Club > > Racing Fleet, which used only race with spinnakers, had dwindled to about > > 10 or so active boats. The Chairman at the time (I was Vice Chair) > > developed the Wednesday night Family Jib and Main (FJAM) racing, which uses > > a handicap adjustment system so everyone can win (sooner or later). > > Wednesday night FJAM racing became very popular – so popular that > > sufficient interest grew in non-spin weekend racing that we started a fleet > > for that as well. > > > > > > > > From: Bill Coleman via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > > Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2021 12:30 PM > > To: 'Stus-List' <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > > Cc: Bill Coleman <colt...@gmail.com> > > Subject: Stus-List Re: Racing fleets and getting sailors to > > participate > > > > > > > > In our fleet, the Spinnaker is just that, usually on weekends, with > > a few races interspersed in the evening instead of the Wed Nite Jams. This > > usually only brings out around a dozen entries. > > > > Then, the Wed JAMs at 7 PM, usually with a fixed start at the > > corner of our club, occasionally with the Committee boat. Some things that > > help, are a good and dedicated Race Committee to get them started > > regularly, without delays. We usually get 40 to fifty boats out during the > > summer. > > > > Also nice are the Programs that start in the early spring, with > > food and drink once a month, then occasional Parties during the summer. > > > > Other things to encourage participation, are three La Fem races, > > strictly women, and another few for strictly under 30. > > > > You can’t understate the importance of camaraderie, keeps people > > active. Sponsors help to fund parties and keep costs down. > > > > > > > > > > > > Bill Coleman > > > > Entrada, Erie, PA > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > From: David Knecht via CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com] > > Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2021 9:59 AM > > To: CnC CnC discussion list > > Cc: David Knecht > > Subject: Stus-List Racing fleets and getting sailors to participate > > > > > > > > I noticed looking at Bill’s link about his spinnaker that his club > > has three racing fleets: Spinnaker, Family JAM and Jib & Main. I don’t > > know what those represent, but am curious. > > > > I am in charge of racing for our club this year (for the first > > time) and one of the things I am looking into is whether we can increase > > participation in racing by our members. One idea I am exploring is having > > a “green fleet” for those new to raicng to get them invoved in a low stress > > format (primarily start timing when you get to the line). We would also > > have a pre and post race skippers meeting/discussion to talk about the > > race, rules, etc.. > > > > This group seems like a good place to get ideas as to what other > > clubs do in terms of racing fleets and encouraging participation from those > > who are not traditionally participating. Has anything in particular worked > > well for your club? Thanks- Dave > > > > > > > > S/V Aries > > > > 1990 C&C 34+ > > > > New London, CT > > > > > > > > <image001.png> > > > > > > > > > > > > > Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help > > with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use > > PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu >
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
